


Paper Bits

by PurrfectCatastrophe



Category: Free!
Genre: Butterfly dorks, Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-09 09:22:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1144289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurrfectCatastrophe/pseuds/PurrfectCatastrophe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin and Rei give each other slips of paper with words of encouragement written on them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paper Bits

**Author's Note:**

> Little to no editing done on this one sorry maybe later...

Surprisingly it was Rin who gave Rei the first slip of paper that started it all.

It was after a particular joint practice where everything seemed to go wrong. First Rei had left his prescription goggles at home so he had to borrow a pair. Then he kept screwing up his dive and it just wasn’t beautiful. Not to mention he wasn’t nearing his best times as much. Despite all the encouragement Nagisa and Makoto tried to give him he still had a scowl on his face by the end of the day. Rin knew Rei would beat himself over it for a long time and felt the need to help. Except Rin was utter shit at this sort of thing. While changing out he knocked over his book bag spilling out some notebooks and pens. It was while he was grumbling at his clumsiness that he got the idea. Sitting right there on the floor he started scribbling on a blank page. Rin nodded as he double checked what he had written and got up to find Rei. 

Rin was too embarrassed to give the paper to Rei face to face so he settled for stealing his phone and slipping it in there. Rin rushed back to his original spot and continued getting ready to go. As they sat on the train Rei was frowning at nothing in particular, obviously overthinking the events of today’s practice. When they neared Rei and Nagisa’s stop he pulled out his phone and sent Rei a quick message. Rin waited impatiently for the other butterfly swimmer to receive his text. Feeling his phone vibrate Rei pulled it out and opened it carefully. Rin watched as his eyes winded then narrowed in confusion at the slip of paper inside. Rei picked it up and turned it over to read it.

 

_Don’t be too hard on yourself! You’re still getting used to your wings and if you focus on the negative you’ll never get to fly. So perk up Butterfly Nerd!_

 

Rei couldn’t help but chuckle at the crudely drawn butterfly with glasses on the bottom of the paper. He smiled despite how down he felt and glanced over at Rin who was acting as if he had no idea what was going on. Rei carefully found a safe spot for the slip of paper and got up as his stop was announced. He pulled out his phone as the train departed and sent Rin a reply message

 

_Thank you for the slip of paper Rin-san. It’s nice to know that you care so much._

 

Rei didn’t even get the chance to put his phone away before he got another message.

 

_I don’t know what you’re talking about… butterfly nerd_

 

\--

After that it became a normal thing for them. To just randomly send words of encouragement through little slips of paper. It wasn’t meant to be a secret but they never let anyone else see them exchange their little notes. It was something for them and them only. 

When Rin hurt his arm and had to sit out of practice for week Rei wrote at least ten notes each with a picture of a different shark on them. He even included fun facts about sharks on them. He carefully slipped them into a book about swimming and during the joint practice at Samezuka he handed the book to a grumpy Rin who was sitting on the side lines and told him to read it in his room. Once back in his room Rin opened the book and smiled broadly at all the little slips of paper. Gathering them up he read each one slowly. 

_There are about 350 shark species but one of you! Don’t overwork yourself!_

_Large sharks have been known to target smaller younger sharks but I know you’d never do that._

_Shark teeth may be ravor sharp but they aren’t a sharp as you!_

 

Each one made Rin chuckle and chase away the foul mood he was in. Setting the papers aside in a safe place Rin decided to heed Rei’s advice and rest.

\--

They all had decided on some type of “bad movie night” where they would find the worst movie possible and watch. Today it was being held at Rei’s home since he had the best entertainment system and no parents or siblings to bug them. Rin arrived with Ai a little after Nagisa did. The two shota’s sat on the couch and began talking immediately. The two had been becoming close friends and Rin was hoping that Ai wouldn’t be corrupted by Nagisa’s antics. Rin asked Nagisa where Rei was and he told him the other boy was fixing up his room. Rin knocked on the door and it was a moment before he heard “come in”. 

Rin pushed open the door to see Rei seated on the floor surrounded by DVDs. He looked up from the pile and smiled at the sight of Rin.

“Sorry I wasn’t able to greet you at the door like a proper host should but I really wanted to pick a movie as quickly as possible.” Rei explained. Rin shrugged and told him it was no big deal as he sat down near Rei’s desk. Rin offered to help and Rei accepted with a relived sigh. The two looked through Nagisa’s DVD collection and managed to pick a movie after twenty minutes. It only took that long because Rin kept cracking jokes making Rei laugh. After they picked a movie they cleaned up the mess. Rin stacked DVD cases and set them on the table in Rei’s room.With all the DVDs safely put up Rin got up off the floor using the edge of Rei’s desk to stand up. He stumbled slightly not realizing his leg had fell asleep and knocked over a small red box. 

Tiny papers spilled out and onto the desk and floor. Rin cursed and dropped down to pick them up. Rei rushed over to pick up the papers as quickly as possible face steadily going red. It wasn’t until Rin noticed the awful butterfly drawings and his familiar handwriting did he realize what he had knocked over. Rei kept his head down as he picked the papers up with great care.

“You..” Rin started then stopped and cleared his throat. “You actually kept all of these?” Rin asked slightly in disbelief.

“Yes I did. I like to read them after bad days they are surprisingly a great pick me up.” Rei chuckled shyly and continued cleaning up still refusing to look at Rin. Rin blushed to despite himself and scooted closer to Rei. He reached over and grabbed Rei’s hand which made Rei look up at him. Rin gathered all of his courage and hoped he wasn’t reading too much into this and kissed Rei’s hand softly. Rei’s face was now fully red as he babbled unable to process what had just happened.

“Thanks.. for keeping the papers…” Rin whispered now avoiding Rei’s gaze. The two sat on the floor in silence still surrounded by tiny slips of paper. Rei was next to speak after finding his voice.

“Did you keep the ones I gave you to?”

The two finally looked up at each other and Rin smiled at Rei and it was hard to not smile back.

“Every single one.” Rin answered instantly. 

That was all Rei needed to hear before he leaned in and kissed Rin on the lips softly. His angle was a few degrees off and needed slight adjustment but once they got comfortable it was utter bliss. Rin responded happily moving his hands to Rei's waist and pulled him closer. Rei was a bit disappointed he hadn't got the chance to study proper kissing technique but Rin always told him hands on experience is the best kind.

It was hard to believe this happened all because of tiny paper bits.


End file.
